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  • Ponting hurt but no cause for worry

    Ricky Ponting was hit by a cricket ball in the nets but the team management assured he is fine an there is no cloud of doubt over his availability for any of the World Twenty20 matches.Micheal Husssey struck the ball in the nets at trent bridge which hit ponting on the right wrist ahead of Australlia's warm-up match against Bangladesh..

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    Spinners will play a major role,says Dhoni

    India's captain M.S.Dhoni predicted on sunday that spinners would play a significant role in the ICC world Twenty20 opening at Lord's this week.

    Slow bowling has proved surprisingly successfully in Twenty20 comoetitions throughout the world,including the two seasons of the IPL.

    Dhoni whose team depends the trophy it won at the inagural edition in south Africa two years ago,said he beleived ground staff would prepare pitches in favour of the batsman.

    "The Organisers want really exciting cricket",Dhoni told a captains news conference at Lord's ."I think there will be flat tracks and spinners will play an important role.


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    Delhi Daredevils beat Rajasthan Royals ,stays on top


    BLOEMFONTEIN: Delhi Daredevils comfortably defeated Rajasthan Royals by 14 runs in an Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket match at the OUTsurance Oval on Sunday eveningThe temperature was around seven degrees when the game began and by the time the first twenty overs were bowled, it had dipped to almost one. A.B. de Villiers’s 55-ball unbeaten 79 steered Delhi to a score of 150 for three before Rajasthan made 136 for nine after its 20 overs. Rajasthan is now in the fifth place after 13 matches.

    Munaf’s brilliant catch off his own bowling sent Gambhir back with the score at 12 for one. Sehwag fell leg-before to one that was short and stayed low.

    Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir fell cheaply after Munaf Patel got off to a very impressive start. His second over fetched the wickets of both the openers and Delhi, it appeared, were heading for a batting disorder.

    Thereafter, Delhi focussed on keeping wickets intact even if runs didn’t come along as expected. But that was until Munaf ruined his earlier efforts with a disastrous 19th over, conceding 25 runs.

    He bowled a no-ball to de Villiers, who despatched the half-volley straight for six. Munaf experimented with a slower delivery for the free-hit. De Villiers pulled him for a boundary. Two boundaries later, Dinesh Karthik pulled him for a six over mid-wicket.

    All of that was in plenty as leaderboard toppers Delhi defeated Jaipur by 14 runs. In fact, they did almost everything right here, from winning the toss to posting a healthy total of 150 and getting the new-ball pair to deliver.

    Bad start

    When the chase began, Jaipur were hardly in the game. Graeme Smith went for a duck, Rob Quiney scored just six, Naman Ojha fell for nine and the only partnership to talk about was the 55-run stand for the fourth wicket. The rest who followed also fell like nine pins.

    In reply, Rajasthan had a bad start when Graeme Smith upper cut to Aavishkar Salvi off Dirk Nannes in the second over. In the next over, Rob Quiney pulled Ashish Nehra to Nannes at deep fine-leg.

    The defending champion was in further trouble when Naman Ojha found Virender Sehwag at extra cover. Ravindra Jadeja’s promising 24 came to an end after Salvi extracted bounce to force the batsman into an outside edge to wicket-keeper Dinesh Karthik.

    Karthik was in the scheme of things again when Yusuf Pathan sent the ball to short third man.

    Munaf managed three boundaries in the final over, but the task was beyond his reach.

    Combining well

    Before that match-defining over, de Villiers and Dilshan had combined well for a responsible 87-run partnership for the third-wicket. Rajasthan had a forgettable day in the field, dropping two catches and failing to effect a run-out towards the end.

    Rajasthan skipper Shane Warne and Johan Botha utilised the conditions effectively, but de Villiers and Dilshan were prepared to counter them with singles and twos, an approach that ensured runs came at the end.

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    ICC rejects PCB's 'spurious' claims

    Dubai: The ICC has rejected PCB's claim that the decision to move 2011 WC matches from Pakistan was legally flawed, saying they had not removed the country as a co-host of the event, but only relocated the ties assigned to them.

    ICC Chief Executive Haroon Lorgat rued that Pakistan decided to take the legal course to resolve the matter and hoped it would "withdraw its spurious claims".

    "We used our response to clarify inaccuracies and misunderstandings in the PCB's claim. We also pointed out that the ICC Board agreed only that WC 2011 matches should be moved away from Pakistan, not that the PCB should be removed from its position as a joint host of the event itself," he said.

    "We are naturally disappointed that the PCB has chosen to pursue its grievance with the ICC through legal channels but, having received correspondence from its lawyers, we have now responded," Lorgat said in a statement.

    Lorgat made it clear that game's world governing body had the power to shift the location of ties in the best interest of its members who grow on revenue from ICC tournaments.

    "The ICC Board's decision was a sad one to have to take but it was taken on the basis of what was best for all 104 of the ICC's Members," Lorgat said.

    "The suggestion the ICC Board was not empowered to decide that matches should be moved away from Pakistan and that such a decision was 'legally flawed' is also incorrect and without foundation. The ICC Board is the policy-making body for international cricket and has broad powers under its constitution," he said.

    "The ICC Cricket World Cup is our flagship event. It generates the majority of ICC event income for our great sport and without that income many of those Members would struggle to operate or grow the game in the way they are currently able to," he added.

    The ICC CEO said the PCB would only divert funds in other direction instead of development purpose by pursuing the matter through legal channels.

    "We hope it realises that by attempting to pursue

    "We also hope that the PCB will reflect on this matter, withdraw its spurious claims and, as a responsible Full Member, engage with us in an appropriate manner.

    "Given that fact, we need to deliver a tournament that is safe, secure and, above all, successful and it was on that basis that the decision was taken that matches could not be played in Pakistan.

    the matter through legal channels, it will result in the diversion of funds and resources better served to ensure a safe, secure and successful tournament in 2011, something that will benefit all our Members, including Pakistan," he said.


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    Royals wins a thriller

    DURBAN: Rajasthan Royals stayed in the hunt with a thrilling, last-over win over Mumbai Indians at Kingsmead here on Thursday.

    Mumbai needed four off the last over with three wickets in hand but a leg-before and two run-outs ended its charge two runs short of the Royals’ 145.

    Mumbai came within a whisker of overhauling the target despite a sluggish start, principally due to a late-innings blinder by Abhishek Nayar (35, 18b, 4x4, 1x6).

    Man-of-the-match Shane Warne finished with figures of 4-0-24-3.

    Tendulkar opens up

    J.P. Duminy fell when he chopped Trivedi on to his stumps, but Tendulkar kick-started with a six off Pathan and took 18 runs (including three consecutive boundaries) off Ravindra Jadeja in the 15th over.

    Smith lost his patience against Harbhajan and pulled him straight to Duminy at mid-wicket.

    Yusuf Pathan forced boundaries off Malinga and Harbhajan, but bungled up against Nanda, his sweep finding Malinga at deep square leg in the tenth over.

    Mumbai needed 48 off the last five overs when Warne snapped up Sachin (40, 30b, 4x4, 1x6) with a straighter one,

    Earlier, Royals’ 145 was largely based on Rob Quiney’s 51 (40b, 5x4, 2x6) and Ravindra Jadeja’s 42 (32b, 4x4, 1x6).

    Warne put his side in and the opening pair of Smith and Quiney stroked its way to 43 at almost a run-a-ball before Sachin brought the spinners on.

    Dramatic last over

    By the time Nayar was out in the 19th over, he had brought Mumbai to within five runs of the target. Munaf Patel stepped up to bowl the final over and trapped Kulkarni with his second ball. Chetanya Nanda was run-out on the third and though Harbhajan scampered a single, Lasith Malinga fell short of his ground to hand Royals a thrilling win.

    Shane Warne brought himself on and struck almost immediately, inducing Rahane into a top-edge to Abhishek Raut at mid-on.

    Mumbai’s ploy of opening with Dwayne Bravo and Yogesh Takawale failed when the former miscued a pull off Munaf Patel in the second over.

    Mumbai’s miseries worsened when Takawale gloved Trivedi to the wicket-keeper in the sixth over and the side was 23 for three when Tendulkar and Jayasuriya got together.

    The pair took the score to 54 at the midway mark; Mumbai needed 92 to win off the last 10 overs.

    With the asking rate inching to ten after resumption, Warne claimed his second victim, luring Jayasuriya into skying one to mid-wicket.

    Quiney shines

    Quiney stepped up the pace after resumption, flat-batting Bravo over his head for six and flicking the same bowler to fine-leg to bring up his 50 off 37 balls.

    Ravindra Jadeja provided the push from the other end, picking Harbhajan for four boundaries one of which threaded the gap between point and cover. Jadeja was caught at long-on trying to force the pace. Tight bowling by Bravo and Jayasuriya restricted Royals to just seven runs off its last two overs.

    SCOREBOARD

    Rajasthan Royals: R. Quiney b Malinga 51 (40b, 5x4, 2x6), G. Smith c Duminy b Harbhajan 19 (19b, 3x4), Yusuf c Malinga b Nanda 17 (14b, 3x4), R. Jadeja c Bravo b Jayasuriya 42 (32b, 4x4, 1x6), S. Chitnis c Nayar b Bravo 6 (8b, 1x4), N. Ojha c Rahane b Jayasuriya 1 (4b), J. Botha (not out) 2 (3b), S. Warne (run out) 0 (0b); Extras (lb-3, w-4): 7; Total (for seven wkts. in 20 overs): 145.

    Fall of wickets: 1-43, 2-65, 3-126, 4-141, 5-142, 6-144, 7-145.

    Mumbai Indians bowling: Kulkarni 4-0-29-0, Malinga 4-0-28-1, Bravo 3-0-30-1, Duminy 3-0-17-0, Harbhajan 4-0-31-1, Nanda 1-0-4-1, Jayasuriya 1-0-3-2.

    Mumbai Indians: D. Bravo c & b Munaf 1 (3b), Y. Takawale c Ojha b Trivedi 18 (22b, 2x4), A. Rahane c Raut b Warne 3 (7b), S. Jayasuriya c Yusuf b Warne 16 (21b), S. Tendulkar lbw b Warne 40 (30b, 4x4, 1x6), J.P. Duminy b Trivedi 4 (5b), A. Nayar (run out) 35 (18b, 4x4, 1x6), Harbhajan (not out) 7 (8b), D. Kulkarni lbw b Munaf 1 (4b), C. Nanda (run out) 0 (1b), L. Malinga (run out) 0 (1b); Extras (lb-3, w-14, nb-1): 18; Total (in 19.5 overs) 143.

    Fall of wickets: 1-9, 2-23, 3-23, 4-56, 5-76, 6-103, 7-140, 8-142, 9-142.

    Rajasthan Royals bowling: Yusuf 3-0-25-0, Munfa 3.5-0-22-2, Trivedi 4- 0-19-2, Warne 4-0-24-3, Botha 4-0- 32-0, Jadeja1-0-18-0.

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    Royal Challengers stuns Super Kings


    Durban: Lowly Royal Challengers Bangalore humbled fancied Chennai Super Kings by two wickets in an Indian Premier League thriller, to inject some life in its bid for a semifinal berth, here on Thursday.

    Following Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s decision to bat, Chennai Super Kings posted a modest 129, built largely around Matthew Hayden’s breezy 38-ball 60, but the Bangalore side reached the target with two balls to spare.

    For the winner, New Zealander Ross Taylor scored a sedate 50-ball 46 and added 56 runs with Virat Kohli (38 off 35) to fashion its second consecutive victory.

    With five runs needed from the last over, Taylor fell to Jacob Oram but R. Vinay Kumar kept his cool and hit a four to seal the issue.

    The Super Kings maintained a strict line and length to stifle the Bangalore top-order but ran out of steam as the match progressed.

    Taylor and Kohli held their nerve and paired up to pull the Royal Challengers out of the pit before Oram caught Kohli off Lakshmipathy Balaji.

    Experienced Mark Boucher (5) also could not carry the flag and fell prey to Muttiah Muralidharan but Vinay Kumar did not make any mistake, guiding the side to a thrilling win.

    Brilliant catch

    Spinner van der Merwe separated the pair just when it was looking dangerous by brilliantly taking a reflex catch to remove Dhoni.

    Kumble got the big breakthrough when Hayden failed to gauge a floater and Vinay Kumar took a good catch near the ropes.

    Once Hayden returned, none of the Chennai batsmen could do much as the side settled for a below-par total.

    Not enough support

    Earlier, Chennai opener Hayden, who adorned his innings with five fours and three sixes, did not find enough support from his colleagues. Only two other batsmen — Suresh Raina (13) and skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni (18) — managed double digit scores.

    The Super Kings lost six wickets for only 28 runs with Oram, S. Badrinath and Albie Morkel falling cheaply.

    Hayden looked at his best and cracked three boundaries in the second over off medium pacer R. Vinay Kumar and then smote Praveen Kumar into the stands in the next over.

    Anil Kumble brought South African Jacques Kallis into the attack in the fourth over and the all-rounder justified his skipper’s decision. Kallis inflicted the first blow sending back opener M. Vijay.

    Kallis struck again in the sixth over when Suresh Raina failed to negotiate a rising delivery and Roelof van der Merwe dived forward to pouch a well-judge catch.

    Dhoni then paired up with Hayden to stitch a 45-run partnership.

    An important win

    Kumble described the win as “important” for his side, crediting it to Ross Taylor and a superb catching effort.

    “It was so important, it was fantastic effort. Our catching was brilliant,” Kumble said after snapping Chennai’s five-match winning streak by defeating them by two wickets.

    “In the end, Taylor did it for us,” he added.

    Kumble said the team executed its plan barring a few things.

    “We wanted to get Haydos (Hayden) early but that did not happen. Still, overall our plan was successful,” he said.

    The veteran leg-spinner would not get carried away by the win as he said “I would like to take one game at a time.”

    Disastrous start

    Chasing a modest 130, Bangalore got off to a disastrous start as Chennai’s new-ball pair of Albie Morkel and Sudeep Tyagi struck early.

    Opener Kallis departed after Morkel’s wicket-bound delivery found his leg in the first over, while in the next over Rahul Dravid’s ambitious cut found Badrinath at backward point, leaving Bangalore struggling at 12 for two.

    Things were further complicated when the other opener, Robin Uthappa again departed cheaply, trapped by Albie Morkel.

    It was finally left to Taylor and Kohli to pull Bangalore out of the pit.

    Fielding let down

    Chennai captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni blamed his team’s laid-back fielding for breaking its winning streak in the IPL.

    “Our fielding has been suspect in the tournament so far.”

    You have to be fast and agile on the field. We have been a safe fielding side but not a brilliant one,” Dhoni said.


    SCOREBOARD

    Chennai Super Kings: M. Vijay c Uthappa b Kallis 5 (9b), M. Hayden c Vinay Kumar b Kumble 60 (38b, 5x4, 3x6), S. Raina c van der Merwe b Kallis 13 (10b, 3x4), M.S. Dhoni c & b van der Merwe 18 (20b, 1x4), J. Oram c Boucher b Vinay Kumar 7 (15b), S. Badrinath c Uthappa b Kumble 2 (9b), A. Morkel c Kumble b Kumar 9 (7b, 1x4), S. Jakati (not out) 7 (7b, 1x4), L. Balaji c Kumble b Vinay Kumar 0 (1b), M. Muralitharan (run out) 4 (2b, 1x6), S. Tyagi (run out) 0 (0b); Extras: (lb-3, w-1) 4; Total (in 19.4 overs) 129.

    Fall of wickets: 1-32, 2-48, 3-93, 4-101, 5-107, 6-118, 7-118, 8-118, 9-128.

    Royal Challengers Bangalore bowling: Kumble 4-0-12-2, Vinay Kumar 3-0-30-2, Praveen 3.4-0-35-1, Kallis 4-1-18-2, van der Merwe 4-0- 29-1, Akhil 1-0-2-0.

    Royal Challengers Bangalore: R. Uthappa lbw b Morkel 6 (4b, 1x4), J. Kallis lbw b Morkel 0 (1b), R. Dravid c Badrinath b Tyagi 8 (7b, 2x4), R. Taylor c Dhoni b Oram 46 (50b, 2x4, 1x6), V. Kohli c Oram b Balaji 38 (35b, 4x4, 2x6), M. Boucher c Hayden b Muralitharan 5 (5b, 1x4), R. van der Merwe (run out) 3 (6b), B. Akhil c Tyagi b Oram 0 (2b), Praveen (not out) 12 (6b, 1x6), R. Vinay Kumar (not out) 6 (2b, 1x4); Extras: (b-4, lb-1, w-3) 8; Total: (for 8 wickets; in 19.4 overs) 132.

    Fall of wickets: 1-2, 2-12, 3-30, 4-86, 5-91, 6-104, 7-107, 8-125.

    Chennai Super Kings bowling: A. Morkel 4-0-13-2, Tyagi 2-0-21-1, Balaji 4-0-32-1, Jakati 4-0-25-0, Muralitharan 4-0-24-1, Oram 1.4-0-12


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    Harsh-Van’t Hof in last eight

    NEW DELHI: Harsh Mankad and his American partner Kaes Van’t Hof recorded a straight-set victory over Vladimir Obradovic and Adam Vejmelka to enter the quarterfinals of the $50,000 Sarasota Open in Longboat Key (USA).

    The third seeded pair defeated the Serbian-Czech duo 6-3, 6-2 in the first round match. 

    They will next take on American qualifiers Ty Braswell and Derek Myres.

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    ICC panel to meet on May 27

    Mumbai: The Operational Planning Committee of the ICC World Cup 2011 will meet here at the Cricket Centre here on May 27, three days after the DLF-IPL final in South Africa.

    The committee felt there had to be successful trials of an appropriate colour ball for such matches. The red ball currently used for Tests would not be of use at night and there remains an issue concerning the lasting qualities of the white ball.

    Jamieson Cambell, General Manager, Commercial, International Cricket Council will also attend the meeting to advise the committee on planning and draw the budget for the World Cup.

    The Operational Planning Committee members are Mahbubul Anam (Bangladesh, Convenor), N. Srinivasan (India), Duleep Mendis (Sri Lanka) and Prof. Ratnakar Shetty (Event Managing Director).
    On the decision to drop Pakistan as host country because of security concerns, a BCCI official said it was an unanimous 12-0 vote in favour of the decision with the PCB representative abstaining.

    Lorgat said the ICC was willing to consider any proposal, including day-night Tests, to make the longer version of the game more spectators friendly.

    "The committee recognised the need to promote Test cricket and was happy for talks on this matter to advance. However, before it gave the concept the green light it agreed that several aspects needed to be firmed up first," he said.

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    Djokovic enters third round at Madrid Open

    Novak Djokovic eased past Oscar Hernandez 6-3, 6-3 on Wednesday to advance to the third round of the Madrid Open. 
    Novak Djokovic






    Novak Djokovic returns a ball at the ATP Madrid Masters. (AFP Photo)











    The third-seeded Serb fell awkwardly on his right knee on the clay surface at Madrid's new ``Magic Box'' tennis center early in the second set, but was rarely troubled by his Spanish opponent before closing out the match in 1 hour, 38 minutes. 

    Fourth-seeded Mahesh Bhupathi and Mark Knowles crashed out with a 6-4, 7-5 loss to Stephen Huss and Ross Hutchins. On Tuesday, Roger Federer began his latest bid for a first title of the year with a 6-1, 7-5 win over Robin Soderling.

    Djokovic never faced a break point in the match, while breaking Hernandez once in the first set and twice in the second. 

    Juan Martin del Potro of Spain also advanced to the third round when Tomas Berdych was forced to retire with a leg injury. 

    The Czech player, who won his first title of the year at the BMW Open in Munich on Sunday, retired while trailing 6-2, 4-1. 

    The results: Men: Second round: Rafael Nadal bt Jurgen Melzer 6-3, 6-1; Novak Djokovic bt Oscar Hernandez 6-3, 6-3; Juan-Martin del Potro bt Tomas Berdych 6-2, 4-1 retired; Gilles Simon bt Fabio Fognini 6-3, 6-2; Stanislas Wawrinka bt Jeremy Chardy 6-4, 7-5; Roger Federer bt Robin Soderling 6-1, 7-5; Andy Murray bt Simone Bolelli 7-6(9), 6-4; Ivan Ljubicic bt Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 6-4, 7-5. Doubles: Stephen Huss & Ross Hutchins bt Mahesh Bhupathi & Mark Knowles 6-4, 7-5.

    Women: Third round: Vera Dushevina bt Francesca Schiavone 6-3, 4-6, 6-2. Second round: Victoria Azarenka bt Peng Shuai 6-4, 6-1; Alisa Kleybanova bt Venus Williams 6-3, 3-6, 7-5; Amelie Mauresmo bt Jie Zheng 6-2, 7-5. — Agencies

    In later matches, top-seeded Rafael Nadal was due to meet Austria's Jurgen Melzer, while women's No. 1 Dinara Safina was set to play Li Na of China.

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